[ChiragM]

This trend has been around internationally for a while now, but seems to be gaining popularity in India with a few aesthetically adventurous car owners lately.



A few of these brave owners have adorned their car bodywork with this vinyl stick-on wrap that makes it look like parts of the car have rusted. This brings an interesting visual contradiction of an extremely expensive car that appears to be in a dilapidated and uncared for condition. Imagine if a latest generation 1+ crore car pulled up next to you in traffic, but looked like it had spent 12 years in a barn in Cherrapunji, you'd be rather baffled. It's a visual oxymoron that's extreme enough to shock most onlookers, at least until they figure out they've been tricked by a very crafty wrap.

Here are a few vehicles I found in India with rust wraps on them:

Porsche 911 Cabriolet



Image Source
Back in 2016 this was one of the first vehicles to receive a rust wrap in India. The wrap on this 911 is based on the iconic Martini Racing livery. It was executed by Motormind Designs based in Bangalore. Interestingly, this 911 is the first Porsche in India to have crossed 1 lakh kilometers.

Jaguar F-Type


Image Source
Image Source
Another sports car with a rust-themed wrap. This one was done in 2020 by Layers Wrap and AR wrap. This F-Type was delivered to Vizag, Andhra Pradesh. Clearly this wrap is more of a stylistic representation of a 'rust theme' than a photo-realistic representation like the Porsche above.

Ford EcoSport


Image Source
Image Source
Another wrap done by AR Wrap. This EcoSport features a zombie-themed rust wrap complete with extreme rust, an overall patina effect, and some deep scratch marks. The headlights and fog lights are now red. Among the sea of EcoSports on the road, this one would certainly stand out.

Renault Koleos




Image Source
This Koleos gets rust spots and a design that makes the paint appear cracked. The wrap being on an SUV also lends the apparent condition of the car a little more credibility, versus if it was on an expensive sportscar. The Koleos also gets Martini stripes - similar to the Porsche. The wrap was done by Wrap Style Kerala. Other modifications include a blacked-out grille and logo.

Ducati 1199


Image Source
Rust wraps are not restricted to just cars, they have been done on bikes as well. Here's a Ducati 1199 with a green rust wrap. I mean, if you're going to make your bike look like it's in shockingly poor condition, may as well have some fun and do it on a Ducati! The wrap was done by Wrap Style Bangalore.

Royal Enfield



Image Source
Image Source
Some might think these are pictures of two Royal Enfields after their first monsoon, but nope - these are wraps too. Done by F Factory Kochi on the Royal Enfield Classic and Royal Enfield Himalayan.

Yamaha RX135

Image Source
Another wrap done by F Factory Kochi. I like the detailing on this as well, and the fact that it's an old model of bike surely adds a huge amount of authenticity.

Land Rover Defender




It's not just wraps now. Design companies want to cash in too. Heritage Customs is offering a few pre-rusted parts for Land Rover Defenders. The parts include side vents and hood panels, and are finished by a new metallurgy process. The rustic look is said to last 20 years. Wonder what exactly happens after that…

[Rehaan]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[2000rpm]

These pictures want me to gouge my eyes out!!

There are some things in life which one just does not get or understand. This is one such thing for me!

[adi.mariner]

New car dealers sell underbody anti rust treatment and after market accessory shops selling rust patterned wraps
Looks really horrible and I hope the trend doesn't catch on. (Like the rust on the wrap).

[TrackDay]

There are two sides to this if one thinks from a certain perspective :

1. It is just a wrap job and not permanent. Can be fun and reminds me of the exterior design modifications one used to get in those NFS games.

2. Having a big garage with 2 or 3 sportscars, why not go for an exciting wrap ? Life is too short to live the mundane, everyday same color.

That being said, I obviously wont get this done if it was my only ride and seems to be more of a passing trend for those with cash to splurge. It is one thing to wrap a vehicle in a certain color and another to present it as a barn find. The only advantage of applying this to a mass segment car is that car jackers are less likely to steal it.

Source: Google Images

[Axe77]

It’s definitely something of an acquired taste and not something I can imagine doing to my own car. Even if I ever owned a vintage or really old vehicle I would enjoy it with a pristine look. That’s just been hard wired into my psyche. I can however appreciate the look on someone else’s car. Some of those finishes are actually tastefully done for the look they are going for.

But as looks go, its definitely several notches above those childish rear decals that show a football breaking the glass, or a dog or child peeping out etc. Something like the image below which I pulled off the internet.



.

[AMG Power]

Nothing Shocking. It’s a Natural Progression:

From:



To:



To:

[gkveda]

I think this psychology is not new. After building and living in a big bungalow, people preferring to live in a hut temporarily for some time, or after owning a posh luxury hi-end car, wanting to drive bullock cart or a fiat or Nano, or after having hi-end iphone for after some time, desiring to own a simple Nokia 3310 (or any basic monochrome display phone), is a common psychology that we can see.

Even in our culture of Ashrama dharma, Brahmacharya Ashrama, Grihastha Ashrama, vanaprastha Ashrama and Sanyasa Ashrama are 4 Ashrama that ancestors have put as a framework. Most people including kings used to follow these dharmas as psychologically most of them would feel to get that experience of living in forest after living lavish married life with all comforts.

If a person has come from a middle or lower middle class family (typical Indian families), they may not get these psychology since they would have acquired these properties very late in their life. But people born with silver spoon would get into this psychology. Not as VAIRAGYAM (lack of desire) but as another desire or trend.

Personally, although I did not like the idea of "decorating" the car with rust, even I have felt several times like leading nomads like life going to some unknown place like Himalaya region or some forest area, live a life by earning few rupees with whatever job I get for the day, just to fill the stomach for the day and keep roaming in mountains for 1-2 years and come back to join the family.

[Mr.Boss]

New fever



We had fake windshield crack and fake bullet holes in past and now this fake rust

[RedTerrano]

Call me old fashioned but this rust, faux or otherwise, is an indicator of sloppy car care.
I would rather have my steed caked in dust and grime and I would rather earn it by going on some adventure.



Check out how beautiful my baby looked during my NE expedition.

[Gansan]

A carry over from buying and wearing expensive jeans that are torn and full of holes! Appears very shoddy and repulsive. Definitely not cool.

[Dr.AD]

Like many other such things, it depends on case to case and how tastefully or distastefully this is executed. I may be the odd one out here, but from that opening post, the Land Rover Defender looks good to me. Not the other cars, but this particular Defender design is able to carry that theme quite well.

Originally Posted by TrackDay

There are two sides to this if one thinks from a certain perspective :

1. It is just a wrap job and not permanent. Can be fun and reminds me of the exterior design modifications one used to get in those NFS games.

2. Having a big garage with 2 or 3 sportscars, why not go for an exciting wrap ? Life is too short to live the mundane, everyday same color.

Well said, and I agree to this. I will never do this on my only car or the car that I use every day. However, if I were to have multiple cars with some cars just for having fun, nothing wrong with experimenting with weird wraps. As you said, this is just a wrap and not permanent. We don't have to take every car (assuming we have multiple cars) very seriously.

Again, I will never do this on my cars. Not my taste. But I can imagine how someone with multiple cars and appetite for experimentation will like to do such things.

Originally Posted by Axe77

But as looks go, its definitely several notches above those childish rear decals that show a football breaking the glass, or a dog or child peeping out etc. Something like the image below which I pulled off the internet.

Agree 100% to this. Those stickers look so out of place on an automobile that nothing can be worse than those. This rust theme is still somehow more related to the automobiles than some decals of footballs or dogs.

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

I would rather have my steed caked in dust and grime and I would rather earn it by going on some adventure.

Check out how beautiful my baby looked during my NE expedition.

Looks nice. I agree that the best look is when the car is dirty from actually going to someplace away. Back in 2016, once in my 7-day long wandering through monsoon in car, the car looked so dirty (was full of mud all the time) that I ended up naming her "Dusty" after that drive :-)

[svsantosh]

Real Rusted car owners be like...
"Bhai, even Jags and Porche's rust.... Indica ko what can we complain?"

[Raghu M]

If you ask me, I would rather sell my car rather than have it in such wraps. Eye sore to say the least! First the no rear bumper look and now this. Sometimes feel what could be next. I feel the entire roof would be ripped apart and the A, B, C pillars left to rust. While this could be someone's taste, it's definitely not for me. I don't like faded jeans, this is not my cup of tea or glass of water.

[green_ninja]

On the lighter side of things, as far as Royal Enfield's are concerned, why waste money on a rust wrap? They acquire that look naturally after a few months out of the factory